KNOTS LANDING: Season 2 (1980-81) Cliffhanger (Mr. Sid's Wild Ride - Extended Version)

These are the final seconds to "Squeezeplay", the 18th and final episode (31st overall) that served as the second season finale of the 1979-93 CBS drama "Knots Landing", a spin-off of the popular 1978-91 drama "Dallas".

Sadly, this episode marks the final regular appearance of original cast member Don Murray as Sid Fairgate, though he does appear in two more episodes in the next season before departing the series.

Sid's death marked the first time that a lead character on a prime time television series had been killed off. This episode originally aired Thursday, March 26, 1981.

Tensions are high at Sid Fairgate's (Don Murray) car dealership Knots Landing Motors. His longtime employee Gary Ewing (Ted Shackelford) copped to buying stolen car parts for the firm using money he borrowed from his brother J.R. After being questioned by the FBI, Gary and Sid join up with the Feds for a sting operation. The sting is successful and the crooks are hauled off to jail. The FBI then informs Gary and Sid that they will have to testify, so they place guards with them. Meanwhile, one of the mechanics on the crooks' payroll lets out the brake fluid in Sid's car.

Rushing home to get to his sister Abby (Donna Mills), whose children were kidnapped by her bitter ex-husband Jeff, Sid and an FBI agent are driving down Pacific Coast Highway when he realizes that he has no brakes. The car goes out of control as he narrowly avoids hitting people before crashing through a freeway embankment, down to the beach below. The scene freezes on Sid's horrified face.

This plot was set to accommodate the wishes of Don Murray, who decided to leave "Knots Landing" in 1981 to focus on other projects.